Saints welcomed back former boss Ronald Koeman and showed him just what he could have been doing this season.

I thought before the game that Saints would need an early goal but I didn't dream it would be within 45 seconds as we seemed to be in overdrive from the word go and caught Everton before they were even out of the blocks.

When I saw the team selection I was a little surprised, usually James Ward Prowse and Pierre Emile Hojbjerg don't start in Premier League games and the inclusion of Josh Sims was a big surprise that came out of nowhere.

Add Cedric Soares who Koeman dropped in favour of Martina in the second half of last season and Oriol Romeo who was always second fiddle to Wanyama and it was if Claude Puel said to his team before the game to those who the Dutchamn either didn't seem to rate or ignored completely "Go out and show him he is wrong".

If that was the message it worked as for the first quarter of the game Saints blitzed Everton who were shellshocked.

But a second goal didn't come and the visitors started to impose themselves on the game as it went on and it needed a team effort to make sure that no goals were conceded and that all three points went to the home side.

Ironically it was former Saints keeper maarten Stekelenburg who made sure that Everton weren't routed, he made two top saves in the second half, the first from Charlie Austin who the Dutch Keeper stopped hi header at full length and the second from James Ward Prowse who showed great calm in chesting the ball down only to see Stekelenburg get a hand to the shot to take the sting out of it allowing a defender to clear it off the line.

Josh Sims would not have been recognised by many Saints fans if he had passed them in the street before the game, but he brought a youthful exuberance to the game that seemed to inspire his team mates, he had a great first half, a little spell in the second where he seemed to tire and make a wrong decision or two and then finished the game strongly to stake a claim for man of the match.

Overall I don't think he could quite claim that such was the displays put in by several of his team mates, but he came close.

This was a great team display and although Everton pressed hard in the final 20 minutes they did not get a shot on target to the final minute when Forster had to deal with a tame effort from distance.

So a great result from Saints and a win that was sorely needed after a poor run of form and one that will hopefully restore confidence for two important games coming up.

It pushed Saints back up into the top ten and although we can't change the past it should be noted that if Saints had won at Hull City as they should have done they could have sat in 6th place this morning.

No of course it is all ifs and buts, but it does illustrate that we are not that far from the heights that we achieved last season, there is much to look forward to.

Photo: Action Images

SanMarco added 10:15 - Nov 28 Very pleasing attitude at the start + well done to Puel for the Josh Sims surprise. I thought the first choice full backs made a big difference and all of us pessimists who were starting to utter the R word can take comfort from the fact that our best 11 will get a lot more home points against the lesser lights (and let's face it Everton belong in that category!) The only downside was the failure to kill the game off. Everton didn't deserve an equaliser but if it stays 1-0 it is always possible and that mis-hit at the end was only a couple of feet from giving Lukaku an open goal. On the same theme it was a pity that JWP, who had a better game than usual, missed that sitter. The goal scoring problem has not gone away. I watched on the tele and did anyone else have to throw something at the screen when Josh Sims had that great run in the second half and the commentator promptly added him to Liverpool's shopping list. Finally, a message to Les and the bean counters. Picture that side without VVD and Romeu and you will know why there should be NO "CASH-INS" in January...

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perazi added 10:27 - Nov 28 Agree with SanMarco, the full backs were both superb, especially Cedric. Romeu, VVD and Hojbjerg all outstanding - Hojbjerg showing he has got the motor to be a box-to-box attacking midfielder. And then there was the academy lad, Sims, what a joy to watch the speed and skill from a 19yo playing his first Prem game - surely he has to be selected again at Palace. Only negative for me was the ungracious interview by RK following the game.

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halftimeorange added 10:51 - Nov 28 I think the word that best describes what Josh Sims brought to the team was "refreshing". He was always hungry for the ball and was probably the driving force in making Saints go forward instead of the usual fannying about in midfield which invariably results in promising attacks fading to nothing. All that said, Josh won't always be facing a relatively static back four which Everton put out yesterday. His pace worried them all the time he was on the pitch. I must also say that Charlie Austin worked really hard off the ball yesterday and Hojbjerg never stopped running. The only downside (again) was the performance of Redmond. He's not getting any better. Never mind, the best team won.

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steve73 added 11:19 - Nov 28 Such a relief. Felt like a proper performance full of qualities that have been lacking recently. Energy, hunger, pace and a desire to move the ball forward. Great debut from Sims but I imagine he'll be nurtured and used sparingly at first. The fact that he can put a good ball in makes him preferable to Long, especially with goals being hard to come by at present. Overall a great team performance with the exception of Redmond. He swaggers around like he's our star player, berating people every time he blasts wide or gets the ball nicked off his toes. Nothing ever seems to be his fault. Don't rate him at all.

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schatfield added 13:00 - Nov 28 i think Evertons not-very-mobile back 4 could be why a player like Josh Sims was started in this particular game, which very much suited him. Skeletonburg did indeed keep Everton in it. And their finishing was like us on Thursday!
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bstokesaint added 13:08 - Nov 28 Rather than going over old ground, i.e. the ability to score and the below par performances from some players, which don't go away after one win, it was nice to be able to comment on the performance of the new boy. He had an outstanding game. As did Cedric. It was good to have him back in the team. Whilst we're heading in a more positive direction it's interesting to note we are 3 points behind where we were at the same point last season. We actually lost the corresponding fixture (matches played-wise) and then went on to take just 4 points from the next 7 games. So despite our still obvious short-comings (mainly the ability to kill games off) we're not a million miles away from our best. January might solve some of that. On a less positive note Koeman's post match reaction was that of a petulant loser. I've always been staggered about his arrogance. Even as Saints' manager, when he lost games I was surprised how he just assumed Saints were always the better team and we'd be done an injustice of some sort. I just accepted that for someone who was used to winning. Yesterday he just looked like someone who had no answers.

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TeamCortese added 14:44 - Nov 28 Great result yesterday! We desperately needed to get back to winning ways. Loving Puel's statement to our attackers by picking Josh Sims. His work rate and lack of fear to make things happen in the final third was truly refreshing. I hope this acts as a kick in the backside to people like Jay Rod, Sofiane Boufal and Shane Long. On a more positive note Charlie Austin workrate was very good. Let's hope we can beat Arsenal Wednesday #COYR

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brazilianshine added 15:08 - Nov 28 is puel going to use only 4-3-3?
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SaintPaulVW added 15:37 - Nov 28 Phew! Needed that after Thursday! Just wish we could have killed the game off in the first half, but we never make it easy for ourselves and Steklenberg seems to have learned how to get stuck in this season. Arsenal next COYR!
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Bettwsresident added 17:10 - Nov 28 It was a great performance marred only by it not being 3 or 4-0. The tight one touch forward play cutting through Everton in the first half had me jumping up and down. It was superb and such a change from the staid toothless play on Thursday. All but Redmond had good games but Cedric was the stand out. He was supposed to be bullied by Bolaisse and instead defended superbly and was at the heart of us going forward. Steklenberg needs a drugs test. He would never have made those saves when he played for us! Finally was anyone else getting worried by VVD's walkabouts. He was often on the left wing and really dallies getting back after corners leaving Hojberg and Romeu to act a CB's. The good side it that this shows the teams flexibility but it does give me nervous moments when we lose the ball in midfield and our best defender is way behind play. Saying that VVD has an imperious confidence that seems to allow him to get away with anything!

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corkcitysaint added 20:07 - Nov 28 Vital 3 points! whilst the same problems in front of goal still exist, it was the quicker tempo and the attitude to compete which was greatly improved. It was great to see both full backs bombing down the line, looking to put crosses in. It seemed we were finally getting behind teams instead of tippy-tappy passing in front of them. Overall, a much better feeling after this game but we still need to kill teams off. The early goal really was crucial. Positives to all players except Redmond. For me, he had a stinker.. I thought this would be a game where he'd attack a confidence lacking Everton but no. I'd bench him for the Arsenal match. As for Everton, they were woeful. We now need to do the business against Palace and not slip back into our pedestrian play of late. Up and at 'em!!

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